By Rick Dandes
SUNBURY — While Catholic schools nationwide struggle with decreasing enrollment and increasing closings, student populations remain steady at two of three Catholic and five other parochial schools in the Valley.
That parents are paying tuition, as well as public school taxes, in a recessive economy is a testament to the sacrifices they will make for their children’s education, according to a Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg official.
“These parents get it,” said the Very Rev. Edward J. Quinlan, secretary for education. “They have seen a difference it makes in their children. And they are willing to do what it takes to keep them here.”
Almost 1,600 children attend Grades 1-12 in Valley parochial schools. The average cost of one student’s tuition in those grades is $3,386 per year, ranging from $2,341 at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional in Coal Township to $4,307 at Meadowbrook Christian Academy in Milton.
Most parochial schools in the Valley offer tuition discounts for a family sending two or more children to the same school.
Enrollment at only St. Monica School in Sunbury has declined significantly, from 199 students in 2002 to 134 in 2008, Quinlan said.
“We know that in some places, some towns, the decline in enrollment has nothing to do with the quality of our school,” he said. “Sometimes, we can predict enrollment numbers based on population shifts.”
He said he believes the changing demographics in Sunbury are to blame for St. Monica’s enrollment decline, that he is concerned about the school's continued viability, and suggests St. Monica Church devise a two-year plan for its school.
“We need to look carefully at schools that have lost students, for whatever reason,” he said.
Thirty one new Catholic schools opened in 2008-2009, but 162 schools closed or consolidated.
The number of students enrolled in Catholic schools nationwide for the 2008-09 school year was almost 2.2 million, according to the National Catholic Educational Association. There were 2.6 million 10 years ago, and 2.4 million five years ago.
Religion unpopular, principal says
While Sister Margaret McCullough agrees that a faltering economy is a significant factor in declining enrollment, “the real reasons are much more complicated than that,” she said.
“There has been a slow but noticeable cultural change in this society, and it’s how people view religion these days. Religion is simply not popular now,” the principal of Lourdes Regional said.
“People don’t go to church as much as they used to,” and because of that, they don’t support or send their children to parochial schools, she said.
However, with 429 students last May, Lourdes Regional had almost 130 more pupils than any other parochial school in the Valley.
“At our school, we have parents who very much recognize the value of the kind of character-building education we provide, to the extent where they are paying thousands of dollars a year for their children to attend,” McCullough said. “And these are not wealthy families.
“Don't get me wrong. We’ve definitely lost some students here because their parents were laid off from their jobs and they had to move, but we made up for that with new student enrollments.”
Many parochial schools are small when compared to public schools, she said.
“That’s not the case here,” McCullough said. “This is not a small school by any means, and we have many of the same challenges that public schools have. We have to deal with escalating salaries, health insurance. But all-in-all, we’re surviving.”
As is Meadowbrook, Sunbury, Northumberland and Watsontown Christian academies; Penn View Bible Institute in Penns Creek, and St. Joseph’s in Danville.
“We’re very much blessed here,” said the Rev. Steven W. Fauser, pastor at St. Joseph. “In Danville and the surrounding area, we have a large employer, Geisinger Medical Center, that provides jobs and thus family stability. In Lewisburg and Milton, they have Bucknell and Evangelical Hospital.”
Studies show that the steepest enrollment problems and school closures nationwide are in large urban areas or in depressed small towns and cities like Shamokin and Mount Carmel, where dominant industries — such as coal mining — are in decline.
“The economy is a major factor nationwide, in the declining enrollment at Catholic schools, and at non-Catholic parochial schools,” Fauser said Friday, the same day the U.S. Labor Department announced that the national unemployment rate climbed to 9.7 percent, the highest since 1983. “It’s a financial sacrifice to send your child to a Catholic school, even though most parishes are subsidized. Our parents have made a choice that they do not take lightly.”
Administrators would not comment on whether parents of students in under-performing schools, like Shikellamy High, might enroll their children in parochial schools. Shikellamy last week was placed under “Corrective Action 1” by the state Department of Education for failing to meet five of 13 adequate yearly progress standards as part of the No Child Left Behind Act.
While Fauser would not disparage other institutions, he was eager to speak to the strengths of a parochial education.
“I won’t say that a parochial school is better than a public school,” he said, “but some of our goals are different from that of public schools. We usually have smaller schools, with smaller classes and that lends to a closer-knit community. Unlike public schools, we encourage our students to not only grow intellectually, but also to grow in their faith. Building character is a key goal.”
Kathy Shaffer, development director at Meadowbrook Christian, agrees.
“Our mission statement is building solid citizens while in a Christian atmosphere,” she said. “We feel that it is a benefit that we are a little smaller than public school so we actually can concentrate and make sure we accomplish exactly that. This year, our teachers have been asked by our administrators to focus on one child at a time and we’re finding that the gifts and the treasures within each child are amazing.
“We want to walk the journey of life with the child. Not just academically, although that’s very important, but we want the teacher to be alongside their students as they grow.”
Meadowbrook Christian, she said, concentrates on character-building and life skills, as well as academics.
“That,” she said, “does set us somewhat apart from public schools.”
Because of declining enrollment, a new marketing program, “Discover Catholic Schools,” has begun nationwide. The program is intended to let people know the benefits that can be derived from attending a parochial school.
The message is not lost of parishioners of St. Monica School, said Quinlan, the secretary for education in the Harrisburg Diocese.
“St. Monica’s actually has a greater percentage of children from the parishes enrolled than in some other schools,” he said. “Closing the school is the last thing we would want to do.
“I spent several years as a pastor in Danville and I know the Valley towns like Sunbury very well. I know that a large reason why the student enrollment has declined has more to do with the town’s economy than the school itself, which has done wonderful work with children.”
Many people think that private school students and their parents are an elite group, Quinlan said.
“Or,” he said, “people think that maybe we are different.
“No, we’re not.”
The Rev. William Haviland, pastor of St. Monica, was not able to be reached for this story.
n E-mail comments to rdandes@dailyitem.com. Staff reporter Wayne Laepple contributed to this report.
